After a narrow victory against Cobh, table-toppers Dundalk have reinforced their claims for direct promotion. Ahead of today’s game against Kerry, the Lilywhites announced another signing for their squad. However, some other First Division teams were also quite active after the transfer window opened on Tuesday.
Bray Wanderers vs Wexford
Bray ended their crisis with a commanding 4-0 victory at Athlone. Previously, the Seagulls had suffered three consecutive defeats. Will they now be able to start a positive streak? The visitors are likely to travel to Wicklow with great confidence. Despite an early sending-off for Robert McCourt and trailing 3-1 at half-time, Wexford managed to come back in style and beat Kerry 4-3 last week. Furthermore, manager Stephen Elliott was very busy in reference to the transfer market this week, announcing the signing of five new players (Matthew O’Brien, Cian Browne, Aji Oluwabiyi, Muhammad Haris and Pat Manning).
Prediction Bray Wanderers 2 Wexford 1
Cobh Ramblers vs Athlone Town
The Rams missed a great opportunity to jump to first place in the table, losing 1-0 to Dundalk at Oriel Park. As a result, the gap to the league leaders is again at four points. In the game against Athlone, a victory is firmly planned. The visitors are in last place and have recently suffered two defeats. As a consequence, the small upward trend that occurred under the new manager Ian Ryan has vanished for now.
Prediction Cobh Ramblers 3 Athlone Town 1
Finn Harps vs Longford Town
After the 1-0 victories against Dundalk and Treaty United, the hosts, who on Wednesday announced the signing of Oran Brogan from Loughall FC (NIFL Championship), have stabilised themselves a bit again. In both games, Gradi Lomboto had been the decisive goal scorer. Will the striker, for another time, be the key man for the Harps? Longford had actually been in good form but suffered a setback last Saturday, losing 2-0 to UCD.
Prediction Finn Harps 2 Longford Town 0
Kerry FC vs Dundalk
Thanks to a goal from Gbemi Arubi, Dundalk celebrated an important victory in the top match against Cobh. There is also news for the league leaders regarding the transfer market. Declan McDaid, who was last active at Athlone and has previously played for teams such as Dundee and Bohemians, is joining the Railwaymen. A few weeks ago, the club had already signed JR Wilson, who also came from Athlone. With an expanded team, Dundalk aims to get closer to promotion to the Premier Division. For this project, a victory in Tralee is also needed this evening. Meanwhile, the Kingdom recently suffered an unnecessary 4-3 defeat in Wexford and is now looking for a reaction. Kerry was also active regarding new signings this week, bringing in Arran Healy, son of manager Colin Healy, from Premier Division side Cork City.
Prediction Kerry FC 1 Dundalk 2
UCD vs Treaty United
The Students find themselves in good shape, having managed a respectable 13 points from the last six games. With a W, UCD could overtake today’s opponent in the standings. Naturally, the guests from Limerick want to prevent a loss at Belfield. On the contrary, the Shannonsiders aim to get back on track after an unfortunate 1-0 defeat against Finn Harps.
Prediction UCD 1 Treaty United 1